Army of Two
by temporaryinsanity91
Summary: Ron and KP spend some time apart and are reunited over the holidays. Ron's life and character have changed dramatically, and he feels he's ready to be her partner. together, they are an invincible army. an army of two.


**Happy holidays everyone! A little Christmas piece for you.**

**I do not own the characters of Kim Possible... blah blah blah yall know the drill. **

**Enjoy the story :) Catch ya flipside,**

**~temporary insanity**

* * *

He was driving, both hands on the wheel, phone dutifully in the back seat, eyes on the road ahead, but he was completely distracted. The reason for his distraction was sitting in the passenger's seat, red hair flying about as she bounced along to some _Oh Boyz _song on the radio.

"_Quit playing games with my head—_Ron, can we stop for lunch? I'm starving."

He smiled. The Bueno Nacho was right around the corner. His stomach seemed to have a built in BN radar, because it always growled when they were near one. Making a right turn at the next traffic light, he pulled smoothly into the parking lot and she skipped to a picnic table outside. She turned her face to the sun, and he chuckled a little.

She was especially jubilant today. It was her birthday this weekend, for one. For another, it was their first mission after the Lorwardian Invasion, and it had gone as smoothly as always. And also, she'd read through a small pile of acceptance letters, all of which had offered her a full ride to school if she'd please, _please _be a cheerleader for them.

He swallowed as he went inside to place their orders. He hadn't told her yet.

Three weeks ago he had, in his typical clumsy Ron style, crashed headlong into a serviceman, knocking over the soldier's things and tearing the seam of his pants when he landed on the ground with an inelegant thump. The serviceman had graciously offered to get him a new pair, and after a long talk with the soldier, who turned out to be a recruiter, and an even longer talk with his parents, he was being shipped off to Fort Benning at the end of September to begin boot camp. After that, he would complete his training as an infantryman. He'd miss her terribly.

"Ron, hey, what's the matter?"

"Nothing, KP," he pacified her, not willing to see the beautiful smile on her face go away just yet.

She wasn't fooled. "Talk," she ordered him, raising an eyebrow.

He took both of her hands in his, and he marveled at how tiny and soft they were. In fact, all of her was tiny. She was barely over a hundred pounds, and when he put his hands on her waist his fingertips touched... even his thumbs touched. It was a stark contrast to her huge personality. He loved how she could command attention anywhere with a smile or a raised eyebrow when she meant business. It was also what made her one of the best cheerleaders in Middleton... in the country, actually. She was small and flexible and agile, and her tricks and flips and flyer tricks were taped and studied by lesser teams so they could learn to be like her.

She was an inspiration to everyone. Hopefully, when he came home, he'd be an inspiration to her.

He drew a deep breath. "KP... I'm not... I mean... I haven't gotten accepted at any schools..."

Her face clouded, and she looked heartbroken. "I know," she whispered. "What are you planning to do?"

He squeezed her small hands gently. "I um... met someone who offered to help me."

She swallowed hard. "You're... leaving me?"

He shook his head. "No no no, I'm not... leaving _you,_ KP. I..." he forced back the sudden emotion in his throat. "I love you."

She smiled brilliantly both in relief, and in joy at his declaration. "I love you too, Ron."

He smiled briefly, but then studied their hands. "I'll never leave you, KP. But I can't... stay here, stuck in Smarty Mart at minimum wage you know... I just can't be what holds you down. You're still shooting for the stars, you're going to live all your dreams. And I... I just want to be worthy of you."

"But Ron, you—"

"Don't," he interrupted, releasing her hand to place a finger on her lips. Part of his mind noted that they were especially silky. _She must be wearing that spf lip balm she always wears when she's tired of lipstick._ He smiled a little as she kissed his finger affectionately. "KP... the person I met was a soldier."

Her brow furrowed adorably. "A what?"

"A soldier, KP."

She let out a snort. "And I suppose he _offered to help _by signing you up for his glorious adventurous career in the Army."

"You know me, KP. I like a good adventure. Or else I wouldn't be your sidekick, would I?"

She studied him. "You're serious then. You're joining the Army."

"Army reserve," he corrected gently. "Signed, sworn, and to be delivered in September," he said quietly.

She exhaled shakily, and what he dreaded the most happened: tears gathered in her eyes and her shoulders slumped. "How long will you be gone?"

"It's ten weeks of basic training, and then I have to do the infantry training."

"You'll be gone so long," she whispered.

"I'll be home before you know it. I promise."

* * *

He'd missed Hannukah. He'd barely talked to her in the past few months, he was always busy with training. When he wasn't busy, he was friggin' exhausted.

The last time he'd spoken to her, he'd sounded distracted. There was a lot of noise around him for a moment, and then he happily announced that someone had sent them a bunch of sweet treats for the holidays and he was planning on eating most of it. She'd giggled and told him to save some for her, and he had swallowed hard. "I would if I could," he said quietly. "I love you." The line disconnected with a quiet click.

She went to school in Florida. She liked it when she went down to visit her Gran, and the school was close enough to her for Kim to visit. It was also close to him in Fort Benning. She wouldn't be able to see him, but they at least wouldn't be far from each other. It was childish, but she felt better about it.

She'd made new friends, gone to parties, been swamped in work, and on missions on her own. It was difficult, and she'd reached her limit more than once.

"You can't quit, Kimmie," he'd told her one day when she'd cried about maybe stopping her missions. "The world needs you, still. You can do it."

"But it's too much!"

"I'll have Wade send over a new and improved pair of supershoes?" His voice held a hint of humor and a small smile.

"Pass," she'd chuckled through her tears.

"That is the correct answer," he said victoriously. "You're already super."

"Thanks," she'd smiled, cleaning her face with her sleeve.

"I love you, KP. You're the strongest person I know. You can do this. You can do anything, remember?" At her relieved chuckle, he'd grinned. "Good, since you can do anything, do you think you could go mission mode and slip us some BN?"

"Ron!" she groaned in reprimand, laughing.

"There you are. I love when you laugh," he said quietly. "Talk to you soon, KP. I love you."

"I love you too," she'd whispered, but he was already gone.

Now she was pacing in her room, anxious because it was the first Christmas Eve in fourteen years without Ron talking about how good everything smelled or Rufus nagging her about egg nog or or or—

She huffed in frustration at herself, tugging off yet another sweater and throwing it on the ever growing pile of discarded outfits on the floor. He never cared what she wore... he was always telling her she was gorgeous.

Oh... there was that skirt she'd been pining away over in the White House Black Market catalog she'd gotten in the mail. It was shiny black with a gold floral print. He'd bought it for her for Christmas. With that pretty gold top from Club Banana... she knew she was going to look good.

She practically dove into the closet to retrieve her outfit and a matching pair of flats, stripping her jeans as she went.

When she emerged from her closet, her skirt unzipped and still struggling into her sweater, she tripped and fell into something. That something let out a low chuckle as it caught her. She gasped. "Ron?! What the... how long have you been—oh my God did you see me naked?!"

She could feel him trembling with laughter. His fingers reached for her zipper, pulling it up. He did the little hook at the top and then helped her untangle her sweater. Then wrapped her in his arms. "God I missed you," he mumbled into her hair.

"I missed you too," she mumbled into his chest.

He held her close, enjoying the way she felt in his arms. Her hair was still wet from her shower. She sprayed some warm scented body spray on. It made him want to hold her closer. Somewhere downstairs, soft Christmas music had begun playing. "May I have this dance?" he whispered into her ear.

"But Ron I haven't even put on my make up or put on my shoes—"

"Just dance with me, KP," he interrupted her.

She let herself be guided into his embrace again, and they swayed to the music in comfortable silence. After a long time, he finally pulled back. "I have to show you something."

"What?"

"Um... well, I got a tattoo. My first time off the base, I went with a couple guys and we sorta all decided to get... 'branded'. Wanna see?"

She gaped at him. "Your mom is going to kill you."

He just winked. "I won't tell if you don't." He pulled off his shirt, turning around so she could see and she ran her hands over his back. He was... whoa. Well, he was still his skinny self. But his muscles were hard and defined. He stood with his back straight, and the muscles in his back rippled. It made her swallow hard.

And on his left shoulder was a black and yellow star and a US Army logo. It was... wow. "Ron it's... beautiful," she breathed.

"I'm glad you like it cause I sorta went back and got another one." He turned and she saw a blue and green logo emblazoned on his left chest, just over his heart.

Tears sprang to her eyes. "You got... our logo?"

He caught a tear with his thumb. "It was the first army I ever belonged to. An army of... two."

In a second, she was in his arms again.

"KP... you inspire everyone around you. You... go into situations that no one else can handle and you... I need you to know that what I've been shown in the Army I already learned from you."

"Yeah? And what is that?" she asked with a sniffle.

"To never give up. To never leave your people behind. To be strong, be calm in the face of danger, to never doubt that I can do anything I set my mind to. That I can be happy no matter what the circumstances without having to sit by idly. I'm not... the lazy person I used to be anymore... I realize now that you carried me a lot, more than you should have had to. But I... I'm ready to be your partner now."

"You've always been my partner," she whispered, squeezing him a little. "I... don't know what gave you the idea that you'd... hold me down or whatever, but I couldn't save the world without you. The only reason I can do anything is because I have you."

He swallowed hard, forcing back his own emotion as he gently wiped the tears from her eyes and pulled her close to him again.

"Kimmie, we're going to light the house here soon. Are you coming?"

She reluctantly untangled herself from him, washed her face, and applied some light make up as he pulled his shirt on again.. Then, taking his hand, she pulled him down the stairs, excitedly talking about all their decorations, and her dad's new eggnog machine. She started humming along with the tune on the radio. By the time they made it into the living room, she was practically bouncing again, like she'd been all those

Yes, she was special. And she was his, just as much as he was hers. Together they could conquer everything. They were their own army. An army of two.

* * *

**Sorta cheesy, but hey. I like it. I hope you did too. Let me know what yall think.**

**See ya over in ILAW soon,**

**~temporary insanity**


End file.
